Day 10: Pancakes and headwinds

Woke up in something of a pool this morning. A persistent downpour last night (which managed to keep me awake for long periods) had left quite a legacy. The good news was that it managed to wash away some of the corrugations in that dirt road from Douglas Aspley National Park back to the coast. I headed due north, into a monster of a headwind, taking in more coastal views.

After about 30km or so I was faced with a choice about whether to continue on the coast, or whether to head inland for a bit over Elephant Pass. There was really only one choice for me there, particularly as the coast road was blocked by sheep at the time. After applying some sunscreen I started climbing. This was a little unusual in that the 10km climb couldn't decide on a gradient. It seemed to change whenever it felt like it. Unfortunately, the climb didn't really offer any great views.

8km in I stopped at Mt Elephant pancakes for a quick feed. The food was good, if a little over-priced. The remainder of the ride through St Helens was uneventful, except that I discovered a pleasant waterfall on the eastern edge of the town, before descending back to the coast. I went looking for a bakery in the town of Scamander, I didn't find one. The remainder of the ride to the town of St Helens was accompanied by occasional ocean-views, and at one stage passed by quite a pleasant lagoon.

Eventually I relented (mainly because I was getting tired from turning aside headwinds) and pitched my tent at a caravan park rather than looking around. This one appears to be a little more roomy than Coles Bay was, and not quite so crowded, so hopefully I can get a decent night's sleep.

I don't seem to be able to get any concrete information on whether there is a road linking Bay of Fires to Mt William National Park without returning to St Helens for tomorrow's ride. Some maps say there is, some say there isn't. Maybe I'll take a punt tomorrow, maybe I won't. I'll wait and see what sort of day it is I think.

Chris, I love your photos. You live in an exceedingly beautiful part of the world and I would love to bike through it one day. You also have a good eye for capturing the space of it. The pics in your blog are some of my favorites.

Keep up the cycling and the writing and the picture taking. You are a keen observer of the world around you.

Well, I can't actually say that I live in Tasmania (yet), but yes, it is a beautiful part of the world. The photos from the part of the world that I do live in crop up occasionally on my blog, also linked in the sig.